The present invention relates to an interpreter architecture for communicating with various archiving systems.
To be able to search in electronic archiving systems for documents of any kind, it is necessary to create search masks for the input of search parameters or to use already existing search masks. These search masks need a certain functionality (e.g. carrying out document searches, processing search results etc.).
Every archiving system has its own search mask or masks and its own query language; no standard user interface exists for accessing different archiving systems. FIG. 1 shows a communications architecture such as is frequently implemented in companies, banks and insurance companies. The communications architecture consists, for example, of the archiving systems Visual Info, DB2, EDMS and a general database. Since different archiving systems of different manufacturers are involved, communication between the user and the archiving system can only take place via an API (Application Programming Interface) or a special query language to the respective archiving system.
FIG. 2 shows a communications architecture consisting of various archiving systems as depicted in FIG. 1. A dedicated query language SQL exists in the IBM DB2archiving system. The Visual Info archiving system uses a C-API interface or a graphical user interface. The EDMS archiving system on the other hand has a file-based API interface as a query language. If a company or a bank has various archiving systems in use, or if locally distributed archiving systems are accessed via a data line, a dedicated user interface (search mask) and a dedicated API must be programmed for each archiving system to be able to communicate with this archiving system. Many archiving systems (e.g. Visual Info) now offer simple, permanently implemented user interfaces or search masks. However, other archiving systems are available which do not supply this option (e.g. EDMS, solutions with archive functions such as EDMSuite). In systems of this kind, search masks have to be created afresh individually for each search request. This involves a considerable time outlay, since these archive systems use complicated individual algorithms for the most part. The user who has to look for documents in various electronic archive systems therefore has to master the different interrogation options of the respective archive systems. Since the interrogation systems are very different in terms of their operation and several different interrogation options also exist, users are often overtaxed.
The problems for the creation of search masks are illustrated in greater detail taking the EDMS archiving system as an example. EDMS is an OS/390-based archive system, which contains the subsystems CICS and DB2. Searching in this system is performed via a very flexible host dialog. The panels responsible for this can be executed on CICS. Decentralized archiving systems can be connected on the one hand in EDMS, while on the other hand interfaces are offered to be able to forward decentralized searching to the EDMS.
Owing to the fact that PWS (Personal Work Station) applications are also intended to access the EDMS, a GUI (General User Interface) has to be created which has the complete functionality of the host application.
The GUI is the higher-ranking structure and represents the complete program on the PWS. It contains several search masks, one search mask being written for one object family.
One problem which exists on the host and the PWS side is that when a new object family is introduced (integration of new document types), the search mask and the connection set-up between the host and PWS side always has to be re-coded, which always involves a large amount of work.
The object of the present invention is to provide a system and method which makes it possible to communicate with a large number of different archiving systems with different query languages without having to know their query languages when implementing a search request, and which enables search requests to be adapted simply to user-specific requirements.
One basic advantage of the present invention is that the development time for a search mask with the pertinent functionalities is reduced to a minimum.
Processing of the search results, management of the interface with the archive system and the accompanying administrative tasks are undertaken by an interpreter. The interpreter in accordance with the invention offers an interface for various archive systems. The knowledge required regarding the individual archive systems is reduced to a minimum. A user can thus operate several systems. The various interfaces of the interpreter in accordance with the invention make it possible to re- use source code for different archive systems with few modifications.